Hi, I’m Tammy Hernandez, author of Soul Beliefs: Removing The Obstacles That Prevent Breakthrough And Intimacy With God. Welcome to God Today. I have a confession to make. For way too many years, even as a committed lover of Jesus who knew the Word, I unknowingly lived more as if I had to earn God’s love and approval than as a powerful, greatly loved, free daughter. It’s not that I wanted to live that way, or even that I realized that I was living that way. I loved God with all my heart. I had zeal and compassion for the lost and the hurting, and I sincerely wanted God to use me to help others. However, hidden in my soul was this unconscious unrecognized belief that God loved my good behavior and my service to Him more than He loved me. I didn’t realize that I was living under legalism, works, and performance.
Now I would have told you at that time, there was nothing I could do to earn God’s love and approval. I would have said I’m unconditionally loved, but the emotional part of me, my soul wasn’t convinced. And I didn’t even realize it. One day while I was just spending time with God, I saw a scene from the movie, Annie. And when I asked God if He was trying to show me something, because I saw this out of the clear blue, this is what He shared with me. The scene is from when Annie goes to the house that would eventually become her home. But from the moment that she walked in, she immediately started to inquire from the hired help, what was her responsibility? She automatically assumed that Mr. Warbucks only wanted her for what she could do for him. She couldn’t fathom that anyone would want her just for her and not what she could do for them. That was me. For years, I felt burdened, heavy and responsible. In essence, I lived as if God cared more about me as a worker than as His little girl. God is not interested in us being worker bees. Galatians, Romans, Ephesians, all tell us that God adopted us as His own. He wants sons and daughters. He wants an intimate relationship with us and He would never sacrifice our hearts so that we could go save the world.
Now, I believe someone needs to hear that.God is not a task master. He cares more about you and your relationship with Him than what you can do for Him. And while it’s great, it’s really good to have an excellent work ethic. It’s great to serve others, but it’s not good if you’re trying to get your self worth from what you do or how you do something instead of being, instead of getting it from who you are or Whose you are. And when you’re healthy, you know what happens? You know you’re greatly loved no matter what you do and don’t do, then really good fruit and healthy fruit naturally flows out of that. It will be from a place of abundance and joy and power because you’ll be partnering with Holy Spirit instead of trying to earn His approval, which by the way, you already have.
Let’s pray. God, we’re so grateful that You love us so much, that You were willing to pay such a hefty price in order to adopt us so that we could be your own children. God, I pray that you will encounter our souls with Your unconditional love so that we’ll live like greatly loved sons and daughters that we really are. We want to partner with You in freedom and joy and not serve You from a place of brokenness. Take us to new levels of intimacy with You, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.